For those of us who grew up with the E30 BMW 3 Series, it's hard to believe the slab of Germany is approaching its fourth decade of existence. Heck, some owners would do anything to keep their now-retro 3ers fresh and we're here to talk about an example of that.
No, this isn't you uber-exclusive build that swallowed a ton of money and ended in a full carbon body build.
Instead, we're dealing with a touch of modern tech: this E30 Coupe now packs an active rear wing. Built from glass fiber on top of what should be an aluminum skeleton, the hardware allows the wing to fold in nicely into the luggage compartment lid.
Thanks to the brief piece of footage at the bottom of the page, we can see the system in action - note that the car still hasn't been finished, so we'll have to turn to our imagination for the colors that will eventually deliver the final touch.
Once connected to a 12V battery, the electric motor actuating the wing does its job well. Heck, given the uber-aggressive maximum angle of the wing, this might even work as an aero-brake for those high-speed drives.
Speaking of which, the concept of an aero bring wasn't born on modern-day supercars. In fact, a Mercedes-Benz Gullwing Le Mans prototype features such a solution back in the 1950s, albeit with this relying on manual labor to slow the racecar down.
Returning to the build that brought us here, we have to applaud this for sticking to the origina line of the Bavarian two-door. Then there's the idea of keeping the E30 fresh in general, since this delivers the kind of uber-engaging driving experience that can't be found in contemporary BMWs. So here's to hoping more and more gear heads go down this route.
Instead, we're dealing with a touch of modern tech: this E30 Coupe now packs an active rear wing. Built from glass fiber on top of what should be an aluminum skeleton, the hardware allows the wing to fold in nicely into the luggage compartment lid.
Thanks to the brief piece of footage at the bottom of the page, we can see the system in action - note that the car still hasn't been finished, so we'll have to turn to our imagination for the colors that will eventually deliver the final touch.
Once connected to a 12V battery, the electric motor actuating the wing does its job well. Heck, given the uber-aggressive maximum angle of the wing, this might even work as an aero-brake for those high-speed drives.
Speaking of which, the concept of an aero bring wasn't born on modern-day supercars. In fact, a Mercedes-Benz Gullwing Le Mans prototype features such a solution back in the 1950s, albeit with this relying on manual labor to slow the racecar down.
Returning to the build that brought us here, we have to applaud this for sticking to the origina line of the Bavarian two-door. Then there's the idea of keeping the E30 fresh in general, since this delivers the kind of uber-engaging driving experience that can't be found in contemporary BMWs. So here's to hoping more and more gear heads go down this route.